A draft of a Senate financial services reform bill would require large hedge funds to register with the SEC, but unlike the House's reform bill, it would not require private equity managers to register with the SEC or subject money managers associated with broker-dealers to FINRA regulation.
The Senate draft, being promoted by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., also would authorize the SEC to help fund its operations through transaction fees assessed on stock and bond sales. The Investor Protection Act, approved Nov. 4 by the House Financial Services Committee, would require money managers to start paying user fees to cover the costs of agency inspections.
The House bill would require all money managers associated with a broker-dealer to register with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The SEC currently oversees money managers with more than $25 million in assets under management. FINRA currently regulates broker-dealers.
Both the Senate and House measures would shift 4,200 of the about 11,000 SEC-registered money managers with less than $100 million under management to state regulation.
“I wish I could take this (Dodd) bill and send it to President Obama for his signature,” said David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association, a money manager organization. “This really represents a very knowledgeable and thoughtful approach to the issues that affect our firms the most.”
The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold debate on the bill during the first week of December.
